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Envision having a night off. You're feeling energized, open to experience, and wanting to break from your regular habits of post-work slumping. The world offers possibilities! Do you opt for a) going to a gig or b) being with a partner? The response, as frequently seen with these sorts of hypotheticals, is plainly: “It depends.” Thinking adults might logically inquire: what kind of the concert? Who's the other person? Will it be expected to be good?

Few would choose a intense rock concert if the alternative was a dream date with a beloved celebrity. Yet change either end of the comparison, and it grows less clearcut. Regarding the 40,000 people presented with this choice by a major concert promoter, no further context was given – and the answer came out clearly and overwhelmingly in favour of concerts.

Research Findings Indicate Unexpected Choices

A worldwide survey, questioning thousands of participants ranging from 18 and 54 in different nations, revealed that concerts currently stand as the world’s top form of entertainment, beating out athletic events, movies and – absolutely – intimacy. When limited to only one option of activity permanently, a significant portion selected live music, compared to watching movies (17%) and games (14%). They were also more than twice as prone to choose watching their top musician live (70%) instead of sexual activity (30%).

You arrive anticipating delightfully amazed – and frequently you could wind up with a stranger's hair in your mouth

Perspectives and Analysis

Certainly it makes sense that a marketing research commissioned by a concert promoter would result so strongly in favour of gigs – and, in the freewheeling mood of a would-you-rather, if your top performer is, for example an iconic star, one can appreciate why seeing him could prevail instead of a common or garden encounter. Yet this either-or decision between live music or intimacy, plainly ridiculous as it is, is interesting to reflect on amid the peculiar point we face with both.

The Evolution of Live Music Experience

In recent years, live music participation has evolved into more than a group event but a intense competition. Major promoters duly point out that arena crowds has “increased threefold each year”, and festivals get booked up faster than ever. Simply getting passes now demands military-level planning, rapid-fire response times and bottomless pockets (or a substantial budget). Although you succeed, it isn't sufficient to just show up and enjoy the show. There’s now an expectation, particularly with pop fans, that you might enhance your return on investment by attending more than once (even travelling internationally), learning the performance lineup ahead of time and memorizing the cues to follow and audience interactions established by past attendees.

Numerous attendees report feeling shaken by their experience at major tours: what felt like a scripted production of massive crowds, where certain attendees came not knowing the routine. The extended tour, earning massive sums, was proof of the extents that people will go to feel part of a cultural moment and watch their preferred performer play, though the real performance grows somewhat secondary to the show.

The Situation of Current Relationships

Sexual activity, conversely – an accessible and available enjoyment – is in difficult times. According to recent surveys, nearly one in four of adults had sex in an average week, while about three in ten were not engaging. Elsewhere, modern figures revealed that over a quarter of individuals said they had not sexual activity at all in the previous year, up from fewer people in the past. In these areas, the trend has been attributed to decreased encounters in youth demographics. Compare this with the industry expanding rapidly for stadium extravaganzas and the intense rivalry for admissions. Of course it isn't straightforward as a simple decision between either option – “would you rather experience a popular event often, or stay celibate?” – but it's possibly an indication of what is viewed as the more reliable enjoyment.

Unexpected Similarities

Relationships and gigs are more comparable than people often believe. Both represent the initiation of a relationship, a actual experience of ideas or potential that might have amassed only in your head. You arrive with a general notion of the probable outcome, but expecting to be delightfully amazed – and whether it proves good or bad relies heavily on how your vibe and hopes match theirs. Frequently you might find with someone else’s hair in your mouth, and following be lingering for a break and some quiet time by yourself. Likewise with either, drugs and alcohol can sometimes improve or detract from the event (but absolutely assist the worst situations simpler to handle).

Finding the Balance

The wonder to concerts and intimacy hinges on locating that elusive sweet spot between familiarity and novelty, similarity and difference, effort and ease. Certainly it happens only rarely – but it's the remembrance of when they did, the awareness that it can happen, that motivates us to give it another shot: to {